nix

/nɪks/

//nɪks// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"nix" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nix” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #29,013) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#29,013
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nothing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nix · nix · English

nix · rank #29,013 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,013
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nite

Nearest frequency peer: nite (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “nix”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “nix” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

nix vs NJ
0% similar
nix vs nm
33% similar
nix vs NZ
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for nix
PropertyValue
Headwordnix
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nɪks/
Letters3
Frequency rank#29,013
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “nix”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).nixlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “nite” (#29,012), “NOLA” (#29,014), “Nepali” (#29,011). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nix” is #29,013. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for nix is neighbouring look-alikes ("NJ", "nm", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /nɪks/. Frequency #29,013 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Gloss: "Nothing.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for nix, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NJ", "nm", "NZ", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From German nix, colloquial form of nichts (“nothing”). Compare also Dutch niks (“nothing”), informal for niets (“nothing”). More at naught. The correct English form is nix, spelled N-I-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nothing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nix appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "That's a clean lift from Kipling—or is it Conan Doyle? Anyway, I've read something just like it before. Say, kid, guess what these magazine guys get for a full page ad.? Nix. That's just like a woman. Three thousand straight. Fact."
  2. "I can take you down, Miss Conover, but I cannot take Mr. Hawksley. When the boss gives me an order I obey it—if I possibly can. On the day the boss tells me you can go strolling, I'll give you the key to the city. Until then, nix! No use arguing, Mr. Hawksley."

Etymology

From German nix, colloquial form of nichts (“nothing”). Compare also Dutch niks (“nothing”), informal for niets (“nothing”). More at naught.

This word in other languages

nada(Español)que dalle(Français)nix(Deutsch)nada(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nix"?
"nix" is spelled N-I-X. The IPA pronunciation is /nɪks/.
What does "nix" mean?
As a noun, "nix" means: Nothing.
What words are commonly confused with "nix"?
"nix" is commonly confused with "NJ", "nm", "NZ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nix"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nix" is /nɪks/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "nix"?
From German nix, colloquial form of nichts (“nothing”). Compare also Dutch niks (“nothing”), informal for niets (“nothing”). More at naught. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nix", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

NDA#29,009mew#28,994PEI#29,032mes#28,991

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list